Manchester United would never have existed were it not for a little girl and her love for a dog
Most Reds know the club was originally known Newton Heath LYR, but we hazard to guess not many know the story behind what led to history-defining name change.
Manchester United is one of if not the biggest football club in the world when it comes to its global fanbase, second only maybe to the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, but we’re going to go out on a limb and say how they were founded has nothing on the story of how the Red Devils came to be.
As most Reds and plenty of football fans, in general, will already know, they didn’t always go by Man United and before they were known as such, the club was called Newton Heath LYR FC — LYR denoting the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company workers that decided to put together the football team.
However, it wasn’t until 1902 that they swapped their green and gold strips for the now iconic red kit and the name was changed to Manchester United. As for the story behind why, Man United’s origins can be traced back to one single reason: a lost dog and a girl who fell in love with it.
As detailed in an episode of the BBC’s old current affairs programme Nationwide from 1973, the whole thing started when wealthy business John Henry Davies, a Manchester-based brewer, came across a St. Bernard wandering around one of his pubs and left his daughter to look after it.
J H Davies went on to become not only United’s owner but the chairman of the Manchester Brewery Company as well.
As daughter Elsie Partington, 84, goes on to explain, the precious pup named ‘Major’ was found on Oxford Road after getting lost at a dog show as part of a Newton Heath’s fundraising event, and it was only after the Davies family checked his collar that they were able to get in touch with the owners.
ADVERTISEMENT
Just 12 at the time, Elsie confessed she feel in love with the dog and “worshipped” it, so much so that upon returning it to the owner — one Harry Stafford — her father asked what it would take for him to keep the dog for his little girl.
Despite initially refusing, insisting that he “wouldn’t sell that dog for anything in the world” and regaling her father with the story of how Major saved both him and a drowning man at sea, Stafford was eventually persuaded after J H Davies promised to buy the club and invest in its future.
ADVERTISEMENT
In exchange for giving him the dog as a birthday present for his daughter, Davies helped them move from the boggy North Road fields next to the chemical works in Clayton to a brand-new ground known as Bank Lane, brought in new players and appointed Stafford not as the club’s director.
J H DaviesHarry StaffordThese two men, and a dog, quite literally founded Manchester United as we know it today. (Credit: Man United/Matthew Johnson)
And the rest, as they say, is history and although Man United may no longer bear the same name of colours as its Newton Heath, the two clubs are forever intertwined as one and the same thanks to their incredible and quite unbelievable origins.
Cut to modern day and that small nearly bankrupt club created a bunch of railway workers who simply loved having a kickabout is now a multi-billion-pound sporting franchise and footballing success story known around the world that has enjoyed some of the richest history any team could ever hope for.
ADVERTISEMENT
And it all started with a St. Bernard called Major.
They say dogs are man’s best friends — that goes twice for United fans.
You can win two VIP tickets to a Co-op Live show as part of a heartwarming Manc charity raffle
Danny Jones
Fancy bagging yourself the posh treatment at the biggest indoor gig and live entertainment venue in the city? Well, you can do just that by entering the latest Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity raffle, which is offering a pair of VIP tickets to a Co-op Live show.
All you have to do is simply do your bit for a crucial local cause.
It’s one that we’ve worked closely with in the past on many occasions: the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, which helps house rough sleepers across the region.
Teaming up with The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness – which was created specifically to generate funds for this ongoing crisis – as well as an upcoming community social, all you have to do to be in with a chance is put your name down for a cheap raffle ticket.
Writing in the caption of the post, the Mayor’s Charity has revealed that “Cross Club Social and The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness are teaming up to raffle off 2x VIP Co-op Live tickets to a show of your choosing.”
That’s right, not just any random show – you get to pick which one you fancy going along to in style.
With the 2026 edition of the annual fundraising relay event, on behalf of Greater Manchester’s homeless community, taking place this November (find out more on the GMMC website and keep up to date with us here at The Manc for the latest) they’re hoping to get the donations going nice and early.
For anyone unaware, the Cross Club Social, or ‘XCS’, has been going for a few years now; it brings together runners from all over the 10 boroughs for a big post-race party, all whilst raising money for charitable organisations.
DJs, karaoke, quizzing, three full rooms, an entire beer garden to themselves, and MUCH more. 👀
The next edition will be taking place this Friday, 19 June, over at the award-winning Fairfield Social Club, where an all-day party will run, pardon the pun, well into the night.
Better still, entrants into the raffle don’t have to wait long to find out if they’re a winner, as the lucky recipient is set to be announced the following Saturday (20 Jun) after the big shindig over on the XCS Instagram page.
The Mayor’s Charity team signed off by adding, “Good luck and together, we will end homelessness” – a mission that many Manc groups, especially, have been working so hard to make possible in recent times.
For instance, last year alone, the aforementioned 24 Hour Run, whose team will be in attendance and taking donations for at XCS 2026, generated a whopping £70k, and the total tally has now reached truly life-changing sums.
As for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity raffle, you can grab a ticket HERE for just a fiver to secure your chance to go along to a VIP night at Co-op Live. Fingers crossed!
Manchester United agree record streaming deal for new Amazon documentary TV series
Danny Jones
Manchester United have officially agreed a record sporting TV deal for a brand-new documentary TV series on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service.
That’s right, Man United are getting the All Or Nothing treatment.
With the Red Devils finishing the 2025/26 season much stronger than they started it, they’re now set to invite a film crew into the dressing room and the newly refurbished Carrington training complex for the upcoming campaign.
Although there have been many United documentaries over the years, everything from big budget and smaller indie projects to fan-made, this new show looks set to give a more exclusive present day peak behind the curtain of the club’s modern-day set-up than ever before.
While it remains unclear whether or not this past term’s exploits – be it the drama of the Ruben Amorim era, or the upturn under Michael Carrick – are set to be included, as the official announcement teases, the Amazon series will provide behind-the-scenes MUFC throughout the 26/27 term.
There was an opportunity to accept this kind of coverage shortly after INEOS invested in the business, but Amorim put a rather public kibosh on the offer to preserve the backroom’s privacy and prevent any unnecessary intrusion.
Understandably, a lot of people agree with the decision, especially given the team was not just in another state of flux but at a crucial turning point under their then-new boss.
Taking a more old-school manager approach, it may have been seen as a sensible step, but it wouldn’t have mattered either way, as the Portuguese head coach (who now looks set to join AC Milan) was eventually sacked after just over a year in charge.
Nevertheless, many supporters are still reticent about the prospect of lifting the lid on an organisation that has famously seen plenty of turbulence. The fan base will just be hoping for a season to remember for the right reasons while the cameras are running for a reportedly record
Really not a fan of this – I wonder what someone like Carrick thinks of this? Additional scrutiny and pressure in his first full season as Head Coach.
The two most recent Premier League champions, Arsenal and Man City, have both seen seasons of Amazon’s now well-known docuseries before going on to win landmark titles, so perhaps it could be a good omen; who knows?
Conversely, Sunderland – who were infamously selected as one of the first subjects of this all-access kind of series – arguably ended up putting more unnecessary spotlight on their struggles.
As for those under the All Or Nothing umbrella, Spurs, Juventus and even the German international have also served as examples of how the big payout may not always be worth the bad press, with all three having gone through plenty of trials and tribulations in and around the respective versions airing.
Let’s just say that, reportedly ‘record’ sums or not, this could still go one way or the other…
While it’s still unclear as to the actual figure Manchester United will be taking home as part of the package with Amazon, this is yet another example of the steady Americanisation of association football, starting with the NFL and ice hockey before now drawing even wider audiences to the beautiful game.
Danny Jones -
14th July 2023 
